Loose leaf binder or filing cover



Sept. 20, 1932. POULTQN 1,878,321

- LOOSE LEAF BINDER OR FILING COVER Filed June 10. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet1- //y EN T01? 'fTT P/VEKV Sept. 20, 1932. I I G. POULTON 1,378,321

4 LOOSE LEAF BINDER 0R FILING COVER Filed June 10; 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2I Q I NVE /ZZZZZQF Patented Sept. 20, 1932 T TATE om.

GERALD rourpron, or BROMLEY, ENG-LAND roost: LEAF BINDER on Firms COVERQ Applicationfiied June o. 1930, Serial No. 460,266, and in GreatBritain November 28, 1929.

This invention has reference to improvements in loose leafblnders orfillng covers of the kind in which fasteners, secured to or passedthrough one of two covers, andinthe 5 form of tongues of flexible.metal, pass through perforations in the loose leaves to be boundtogether, and througha strip or/flap of material, or through the,opposite cover,

. over which their free end portions are bent to hold the sheaf ofleavesin place. i V

'An object of the present invention is to provide for use withfastenerssuch as referred to, washers'so constructed that the bent overfree end portions ofthe fasteners, afterbeing passed through the leavesand a strip orfiap, oropposite cover, can be en; gaged therewith andbecome firmly held in place thereby but in a readily detachable mannerso as to admitof the addition or the removal of leaves asmay be 'desired, the ar-' rangement being 'such that when the free end portions of thefasteners are bent over and engaged with the washers, the leaves will .2be firmly and neatly held together.

7 The invention also has for its object so to construct the washers thatwhen any desired number of leaves have been assembled and held together,they can be permanently clamped together by thefasteners and Wash- 36ers, of which there will usually be two, so as in effect ;toformja boundvolume of neat and advantageous form.

To attain these objects, each washer, made of thin sheet materiahforinstance,,thinsheet metal, is provided with'oppositely arrangedprojections'or fingers that overlap the'washer and have their free endsspaced at a distance apart less than the width of the fastener to 4dbeused therewith, and spaced at distance apart at their roots rathermorethan the width of the fastener, so that the free end portion of thefastener, after being. passed through a sheaf of leaves, can" bebentfover the washer and by slightly bending'or twist ing it sideways,canbe passed first under one of the fingers'and then under the otherfinger so as to become held down in positionthereg by, this operationbeing reversed when" it is desired todetach thexfastener from thewash ertoadmit of theadditionv or rem'ovalof one or more leaves.

" To admitof any desired number of leaves, after being bound. togetherin the manner described, being. permanently clamped to bent down forengagement with, the holding portions of the washer;

.gethertoform a complete volume, the fingers Washers such as described,adapted for use" 1n the. mannerset forth, canbe constructedin variousways.

In the accompanying illustrative ldra wings', Fig.1 showsin planand'Figs. 2 and3,

in elevation at right angles to "one another,-

one construction of washer according to the invention. Fig. 3 shows theto afiap, Figs, 4:, 5 and 6 are respectively washer fixed similar viewsto 1, 2 and 3 showing a modified construction. 1 Figs. 7fand.8 show,lnelevation, at right angles to one'fanother,

and Fig. Qinpla n, one constr'uction'of flexible metal fastener.according to the invention.

Fig. 10 shows in elevation, aimodified'con.

struction of fastener, and Figs. 11 and 12 show'resp'ectively in planand'elevation, a c'on struc'tionof washer for. use therewith'J' Fig. 13shows inelevation a further modified construction of fastener'l Fig. 14.shows aloose leaf binder embodyi g the invention with one cover thereofopen and"Fig..1 5 is a section on the line l5 15 of Figgl l. :Fig'. 16is a detail view showing a modification. I i

In the example shown in 'F'igs.1,j2 and 3, each washer 'is made {bystamping in a rec tangularfshapedpiece 'of-Ithin sheet metal. .1, 1

wedge-shaped hole 2 (Fig.1 1)

, a. double'truncated longitudinallyextending 00" V and bending apartless thanthe widthv of the fastener to be extend, so'as to form.fastening project ons".

to one side of the piece of metal, the two 019- posite angular shapedportions of the metal left at opposite sides of the hole, to formsistsof'a' piece of thin sheet metal 1 formed v with. two opposite edgeportions, preferably of rectangular shape as shown,-which are bent overthe intermediate portion so as to form two opposed fingers 1'? 1?, thefree edges orjapices'of which are spaced at a' distance engagedtherewith in the manner hereinbefore described. In this cas'e'thefingers may be incline'dto'or be more or less parallel with theintermediate portion ofthe washer. They are shown inclined thereto. 1 vf In each case, the washer 1, may as shown,

he formed, as bypunching, with 'a transverse slot4 through which thefree end'portion of the associated fastener can bepassed before beingbent down and engaged with thefingersj ofthe washer; 1 i p e a j "Asitwill usually be desirable to secure two such washers, at a suitablefixed distance apart,to a strip or flap of cardboard or other material,or to one of the covers of the binder,

that is.t bear against thesheaf of leaves at one sidefthereof andthrough which two fasteners pass", each washer maybe provided on theside thereof opposite to that provided with the fingers, withprojections that can be passed through slits in the said strip or flapor, cover and be clinched: over the opposite. side thereof so as'tothe'washer enna-- nentlyto the strip or flap, or cover. a

For this purpose, when the washeris made in the manner firsthereinb'efore described (Figs; 1,2 and 3) the. piece of metalstamped'out of each washer 1 to form the aforesaid double truncated wedge-shapedhole Ztherein, maybe slit at the c'entrejofits'length to form twotruncated wedge-shaped portions- 5, that' areintegral withthe washer andarebent at right angles to the washer at the 1 wideends of the'holer2therein and to the opposite side of the .washer' to thatfrom which theoppositely arranged fingers 3 ,31

for the purpose set'fortha 8 'shows how the portions 5, 5 of thewasherc'an be passed through a flapori cover A and be clinched over'thesame to fastenlthe' washer thereto;

or the pieceof metal from which a washer of either of the kindshereinbefore described 7 s s e say n e q eqin gs-4 t end:

6, be provided with fastening projections, for the purpose mentioned, bystamping out portions 6 of the opposite ends thereof and bending theresulting. portions at right angles to the washer as shown.

The flexible metal fasteners for use with washers constructed asdescribed, can be of various kindsl 3 Each fastener may, as shown inSand 9, consist of a single narrow str p 'ofisheet metal 7 connected atone end to apiece of-sheet metal 8, constituting a base piece,. that isformed, bystamping, with a double truncated wedge-shaped hole 9, the

metal froinwhich is slit centrally of its length and the'resulting twotruncated wedge-shape portions; 10 of metal b'entat right angles to thebase piece fso that they can be passed through corresponding slits in astrip or flap of cardboard or other material connected to one of thecovers ,of'the binder and clinched over theopposite side thereof tosecurely fix theba'sepiece to-the strip or flap, the narrow strip 7 ofmetal connected to the said base piece 8 being then bent at right anglesto the latterto form afastener for passage through loose sheets a'nd awasher such as hereinbefore described.

Or, as shown '10, the fasteners employed may e'ach'befof the kind havingtwo narrow parallel limbs 7 7 connected atone end to a base piece 8andjadapted, after being passed through loose leavesand-a' washerconstructed as hereinbefore' described, to have their free end portionsseparated and turned down in opposite direction. a In this case, eachwasher may, as shown inFigs. 11 and 12, be formed with'two'holeswithtw osets of 0ppositely-inclined fingers 3,3 of the kind hereinbeforedescribed and-with a transverse slot 4 betweenthem to receive the. twolimbs 7, 7110f thefastener, sothat the free end portions of such limbscan be turned downin. opposite'directions"and each of thern be engagedwith 'one of the sets of oppositely inclined fingers 3, 3 in themanner'hereinbefore described'for a single set of fingers. v Theconstruction of thewashersand fasteners may be such asto-prevent thefreeend portion; of each fastener when inserted in its wa her, from "beingwithdrawn fjendways therefrom. For thi's pu1",pose,as shown in Fig.13,each fastener may be formed with und'ulatingornotched edges 7: andeach washer withftwo ribs'or pr0jections,1,1 (Figs. 1 and 1) with whichthe undulating or notched edges of; the'fastener can be engaged when thefastener is inserted between them after having beeninserted under 'thefingers 3, 3

on the washer.

The invention can be applied to loose leaf binders ofvariouskinds. Y Itcan howeverad- V v'antageously, be applied toa loose leaf binder of thekind shown in Figs; .1 1: and item;

comprising. a ifiexibleg back 11 having. bent;

. one or other of the kind hereinbefore de-.

over portions or flaps 11*, 11 that are, slotted at 11'. to receive thefasteners 7, and covers 12 and 13 each of which is formed-with a narrowmarginal portion or flap 12 or 13 through which the fasteners 7 can passwithout interfering with the covers which are thus free to be openedabout an edge 12 or 13 coincident with the back of'a sheaf of leaves 14held between the bent over portions 11 11 of the flexible back 11.Theleaves 14; are formed with corresponding slots for the passage of thefasteners 7 Washers of scribed are secured to the top of the flap 13 ofthe cover 13 as shown, and the portions 8 connected to the fasteners 7are secured to or bear against the lower side of the flap .12

of the cover 12. Theflap .ll of the flexible back 11 may be secured, asby anadhesive, to the flap 12 of the front cover 12 as in Fig.

15, or it may be in one piece with the flap 12 of the front cover 12,the said flaps 11 and 12 being formed by suitably folding the materialconstituting the back 11, cover 12 and flaps 11 and 12 as indicated inFig. 16. The flexible back 11 may advantageously be adapted, as byscoring, corrugating or creasing it from top to bottom, in known'manner,and as shown at 11 in Fig. 14, to admit of the flaps 11, 11 that bearagainst'the opposite sides of a sheaf of leaves 14 between them,

assuming positions at right angles to the intermediate part 11 withsheaves of leaves of different thickness, the slots 11 in the flaps -11of the flexible back 11 are made long, as

shown, so as to admit of the back accommodating itself to sheaves ofleaves of varying thickness without being aflected bythe fasteners whichpassthrough the slots in its flap portions 11 11 7 What I claim is 1.For use with a loose leaf binder provided with a flexible flat metalfastener, a washer formed of thin sheet Inaterialand having therein asingle transversely arranged slot, and at one side thereof, twooppositely inclined fingers arranged directly opposite each other andadjacent-to said slot,yeach finger being normally inclined to saidwasher at an angle less than aright angle for the purpose set forth.,

2. For use with a loose leaf binder provided with a flexible flat metalfastener, a washer formed of thin sheet material and having therein asingle transversely arranged slot, and at one side thereof, twooppositely inclined fingers arranged directly opposite each other andadjacent to said slot, each finger being normally inclined to saidwasher at an angle of about for the purpose set forth.

3.. For use with a loose leaf binder pro vided with a flexible flatmetal fastener, a washer formed of thin sheet'material and havingtherein asingletransversely arranged slot',-anda lso a longitudinallyextending hole,

hole, two oppositely inclined'fingers arranged directly opposite eachother "and adj acent to to said washer at an angle less than angle, forthe purpose set forth.

l. For use with a loose leaf binder provided with a flexible flat metalfastener, a

a right washer formed of thin sheet material and having therein a singletransversely arranged slot,and also a longitudinally extendinghole,

said slot, a longitudinal, hole and adjacent to said slotand at eachside thereof and extending from theoppiosite longitudinal edges of thecorresponding longitudinal hole, two oppositely inclined fingers,arranged directly opposite; each other, each finger being normallyinclined to said washer at an angle less than a right angle, for thepurpose set forth. 6. For use with a loose leaf-binder provided-with aflexible flat metalfastener, a washer formed of thin sheet materialhaving therein, intermediate of its length, a transversely' arrangedslot and at each slde of said slot, a longitudinal hole and adjacent tosaid slot and at each side thereof andextending from the oppositelongitudinal edges of the corresponding longitudinal hole, twooppositely inclined flngers arranged directly opposite' each other, eachfinger being normally inclined to said washer at'an angle of about 45,for the purpose set forth. v

7. In a loose leaf binder comprising. 0p

and extending from opposite sides of said positely arranged bindingmembers and flexsaid members and adapted to be passed through loose.leaves between said members and the second member andto be bent over thelatter member,-the combination witheach fastencr'of a washerformed ofthin sheet material having a-single transversely arranged ible flatmetal fasteners engagedwith one of slot therein through which thecorresponding fastener can be passed and provided with two oppositelyinclined fingers arranged directlyfopposite each other and adjacent'tosaid slot, and having their free ends spaced at a distance apart. lessthanthe widthof the corresponding fastener, each finger being nor mallyinclinedto said washer at an angle less than 90, for the purposesetforth.

, 8. In a loose leaf binder-comprising oppositely arrangedbindingmembers andflex} ible fiat metalfasteners engaged with" one of saidslot, each'finger being normallyinclined v i said members andpadaptedtobe passed throughloose leaves betweensaid members and the secondmember and. to be bent over the latter member, the combination:witlreach l fastener of a washer formed of thin sheet ma.-

terial having a single transversely arranged slot therein through whichthe corresponding-fastener can be passed and provided with I twooppositely inclined fingers arranged directly opposite each otherandadjaeentto said slot, and having their free endsspaced at a distancepart less than the width of the corresponding fastener, each fingerbeingv V normally inclined to said washer at an angle about 45, for thepurpose set'forth.

9; A loose leaf binder according to claim i 7 wherein the washer isformed with a transversely arranged slot through which the cor--responding fastener can be passed, with a longitudinal hole and with asingle pair'of oppositely inclined fingers arranged adjacent "to saidtransverse slot and having their free ends spaced at a distance'apartless than the width of'the corresponding fastener, eachv fingerextendingfrom one .edge'of said longitudinal hole and normallyinclined'to the fastener at an angle ofabout to: said washer, for thepurpose set forth.

10..A' loose leaf binder comprising oppositely arranged binding membersbetween which loose leaves can be clamped, two flex- 1ble flat metalfasteners secured to one of sa1d members and each comprising twoparallel limbs adapted to be passed through loose leaves and the secondmember and to be bent in opposite directions oversaid second member andtwo washers attached to said second member and each formed intermediateof its length with a transverse slot through which the two limbs of thecorresponding fastener can be passed and provided at each side of saidslot and-adjacent thereto with a pair of oppositely inclined fingersarranged directly opposite each other and having their free ends spacedat a distance apart lessthan the width of the limb of the correspondingfastener thatis to be engaged therewith, each finger being normallyinclined to said washer at an angle'less than-90 for the purpose setforth.' I r 11. A loose leaf binder according to claim 10, wherein eachfinger'is normally inclined to said washer at, an angle of about 455,for e w the purpose set forth- Signed at London,E ngland, this 20th dayof May, 1930; r

p GERALD POULTON. I

